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@thehireader

SET ON YOU — ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣ ⁣ “[T]hi

SET ON YOU — ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣
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“[T]his book explores the nuance—the ‘in-between’—that ‘self-love’ is not a tangible thing you achieve and hold on to forever. Loving oneself all day, every day is an individual journey, with vastly different outcomes for everyone.” ⁣
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As soon as I read that in @amyleabooks’s author’s note, I knew I was reading something special. And SET ON YOU was, in fact, incredibly special and I already know will be one of my favorites of 2022. ⁣
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This book meant so much to me as someone who shared so many of the same characteristics (including the same mix of ethnicities) as Crystal, and so much of this book spoke to me on a level that I certainly never expected to find in a book. I never, in a thousand years, would've thought I'd one day get to read about someone like myself in a rom-com; see someone like myself as the main romantic interest and lead character. ⁣
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And representation aside, this is just such a fantastic rom-com and romance. Amy managed to perfectly capture all the best parts about falling in love with someone who becomes your best friend—she perfectly captured that butterfly-inducing feeling of knowing a person and simultaneously thinking they’re the absolute best and funniest person and also being wildly attracted to them. The tenderness, the earnestness, but also the chemistry and fun—it’s all there. And if you’re wondering if it delivers in terms of steam? YUP. 🛁🛁🛁⁣
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Please do yourself a favor and pick up SET ON YOU immediately. I really can’t begin to articulate just how much this book meant to me and all of the ways that it was so fantastic, so I encourage all of you to read it and see for yourself. ⁣
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Thank you @berkleyromance @berkeypub for the eARC! ⁣
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[ID: Sarah holds up a paperback of Set On You, her arm resting on her jean-clad leg. In the background, you can see part of a grey couch, a cluttered, round coffee table, a pink floral living room rug, and some house plants, as well as a big living room window. The cover features the two main characters—Crystal and Scott—on either side of the cover in a cute illustration on a pink background]

DATING DR. DIL — ☆ ☆ ½⁣ ⁣ I wanted to l

DATING DR. DIL — ☆ ☆ ½⁣
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I wanted to love this book SO MUCH. I feel like Tyra when she yelled at Tiffany: “I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you.” I’d been anxiously awaiting DATING DR. DIL for months and so when I finally got my hands on it, I was over the moon. Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me in some pretty big ways. ⁣
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I’ll start with the good and what I liked: there were one or two scenes where Prem and Kareena were getting hot and heavy (the shed scene in particular) where Prem’s dirty talk was truly elite-level. Loved that. Also, I thought the ending was pretty cute! ⁣
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What I didn’t like: I’m not sure if this is considered a spoiler or not but I’m just going to come out and tell you that Prem names his penis Charlie and if that isn’t the most upsetting thing, I don’t know what is. Also, all of the characters felt very immature and the drama with Kareena’s sister and her sister’s attitude felt unnecessary. Kareena and Prem’s dynamic was lacking in chemistry and, as I noted above, all of the characters felt very immature and I found it difficult to root for any one of them, much less root for them together. ⁣
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Issues with the story and character aside, I just didn’t enjoy the writing style. It was too repetitive—certain phrases or themes would come up so often that it felt jarring (for example: Taylor Swift. We get it, the characters are Swifties.)⁣
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I was so excited for DATING DR. DIL and perhaps I came in with too high of expectations, so that might be on me. This story had so much promise but it just wasn’t for me.⁣
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Thank you @avonbooks @bibliolifestyle for the gifted review copy!⁣
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[ID: Sarah holds a paperback of Dating Dr. Dil, her living room with some house plants, a living room rug, and her cat sitting in the windowsill in the background. The cover of the paperback is illustrated and shows a woman sitting in a red upholstered chair and a man standing slightly behind the chair, looking down at the woman]

Made a pit stop at the @powellsbooks in Beaverton

Made a pit stop at the @powellsbooks in Beaverton on the way back up to Seattle today ✨⁣
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[ID: a wooden bookshelf with a chalk sign on the top saying “new in literature” in fun chalk lettering. The bookshelf is an endcap of an aisle in the Powell’s in Beaverton, Oregon and on either side of the shelf are aisles with bookshelves on either side]

THE LONG GAME — ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣ ⁣ Do I

THE LONG GAME — ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣
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Do I still think about this book every day? Yup. Will I ever be over it? Nope. ⁣
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HEATED RIVALRY became an instant favorite when I read it and Shane and Ilya will always be one of my all-time favorite couples. And THE LONG GAME really cemented my love for these characters and this series. Where HEATED was more banter and steam, stolen kisses and glances, showing the progression of their relationship from rookies to leaders of their respective teams, TLG explored the actuality of being in a long-term, secret relationship; the day-to-day after the thrill of the forbidden wears off, the sheer exhaustion of having to hide how deeply you love someone and how special a person is to you. ⁣
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That's not to say that TLG is lacking in any banter or steam—it absolutely delivers on both of those fronts and Reid's entire Game Changers series is one of the hottest series I've ever read—rather, TLG just had so much more. I'm having a hard time articulating my thoughts about this book because there was just a sheer ache in my heart and chest from how lovely and raw this book was, but it wasn't a bad ache and it was also deeply fulfilling. Reid's nuanced portrayal of the day-to-day of this forbidden romance was just absolutely stellar and the way we've seen Shane and Ilya grow has been incredible. Ilya's growth, in particular, has been an absolute privilege to read. I love both Shane and Ilya but Ilya...he's it for me. He's become one of my favorite characters of all time.⁣
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Laugh-out-loud funny, achingly romantic, emotionally resonant, and hot as all get-out, TLG truly delivers in every single way. And y'all know how much I try to avoid emotional books (I'm truly the biggest of crybabies) so it should tell you something that I willingly went into this book knowing that it would be emotional—that's how worth it is, that's how amazing it is.⁣
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[ID: Sarah holds a mass market paperback copy of The Long Game up above a pink floral rug and various house plants in the background. The book cover is two shirtless men standing one in front of the other, the one in back embracing the one in the front]

Some recent additions to my shelves ✨ ⁣ ⁣ [I

Some recent additions to my shelves ✨ ⁣
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[ID: a stack of books on a pink floral carpet, the book stack contains, from top to bottom: Teach me by Olivia Date; Book Lovers by Emily Henry; I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston; Cover Story by Susan Rigetti; and By the Book by Jasmine Guillory]

Keeping the Sunday Scaries at bay with BOOK BOYFRI

Keeping the Sunday Scaries at bay with BOOK BOYFRIEND by @krisripper ✨ thank you @harlequinpublicityteam and @harlequinbooks for the gifted copy! ⁣
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This friends-to-lovers romance with secret pining (an elite trope!!) is out now! Do you have this one on your TBR? What are you reading this weekend?⁣
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[ID: Sarah holding up a paperback of Book Boyfriend, a paperback with an illustrated cover of a blonde man on the front cover sitting in front of a bookshelf, drinking a cup of coffee. Sarah holds the book up over some house plants and a pink floral carpet]

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